Kolkata violence: BJP encouraging mobocracy, says Congress

The Congress on Wednesday blamed the BJP for violence in Kolkata during the road show of BJP president Amit Shah and accused the party of encouraging ‘mobocracy’.

Addressing a press conference, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the violence carried out by the BJP workers resulted in the desecration of the statue of educationist Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.

“A new politics where ‘mobocracy’ is being actively encouraged and abetted by the ruling party, the BJP, has gained ground in the past 5 years,” alleged Mr. Singhvi.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shri Amit Shah-led BJP are squarely responsible for systematically damaging the cultural identity of each State in India,” he added.

Many examples

The Congress leader cited a number of examples to argue how the Modi government had weakened the federal structure and every State was under attack.

“Disrespect for national icons and hegemony of their own ideology is reflective of the BJP’s mindset… We must recall that Mr. H. Raja [Tamil Nadu BJP leader] had pledged to destroy the statue of great social reformer, Periyar,” said Mr. Singhvi. He added that even BJP general secretary Ram Madhav had justified pulling down statues in Tripura.

In a separate press conference, the Congress blamed the BJP for violence against its Uttar Pradesh MLA Aditi Singh.

“The BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate Dinesh Pratap Singh, who is staring at a monumental defeat in Raebareli, has unleashed a criminal conspiracy against the Congress as his brother has attacked sitting Uttar Pradesh MLA from Raebareli Sadar, Ms. Aditi Singh’s convoy,” said Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera. Mr. Khera alleged that the BJP candidate’s brother, Awadesh Singh, was facing a no-confidence motion as the head of the zila panchayat. So, the district administration in Raebareli not only picked up Opposition panchayat members on a false case but also refused to provide security to the Congress MLA.

“This is beyond condemnation and requires a full-blown investigation so that Awadesh Singh [brother of Dinesh Pratap Singh] and the 15 masked assailants who attacked Ms. Aditi Singh’s convoy should be immediately arrested and face law,” he added. The party demanded a judicial probe into the incident.